President Herbert Hoover and Antisemitic Violence Against Jews in Poland, 1933

Background

On January 13, 1933, President Herbert Hoover’s close friend and confidant, the Jewish investment banker Lewis Strauss, sent him an urgent letter. Strauss recalled an earlier moment of Hoover’s moral courage, when in 1919 Polish Jews were being massacred. Hoover, then heading the American relief efforts in Europe, had immediately and vigorously protested, summoning the Polish ambassador. Now, Strauss warned, trouble in Poland had broken out again:

“A number of innocent people have been harried to death and a reign of fear prevails in a number of communities.”

A wave of antisemitic violence had erupted in Poland in December 1932, in what became known as the “Vodka Pogrom.” Beginning in Lvov, riots and attacks spread across the country, renewing fears of organized violence against Jewish communities.

Strauss goes on to ask Hoover to appeal to Poland’s ambassador once again: 

“If it would be compatible with your ideas to include in your remarks to the new Polish Ambassador, who will shortly call upon you to present his credentials, some expression of your views and those of several millions of Americans who hope for internal peace among the racial and religious groups in Poland, it would go far to allay the present troubles and promote amity.”  

But even as Strauss was sounding the alarm, the new Polish ambassador, Stanislaus Patek, was already shaping a very different public narrative. Having recently arrived in Washington, Patek granted his first interview to a Jewish newspaper the day before Strauss made his appeal to Hoover. 

In that interview, published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Patek declared himself a “sincere friend of the Jews,” and expressed regret over the attacks and voiced confidence in his government’s ability to restore order. He argued that a harsher initial response from Polish authorities would have only intensified the unrest: 

“American Jews,” Patek said, “should not be perturbed concerning the situation of their fellow Jews in Poland. Their position is not as bad as is believed here. I believe that a more reserved attitude abroad would help to improve relations between Jews and non-Jews in Poland.”

It is unclear whether Strauss was aware of Patek’s remarks, or how he might have viewed them. Regardless, he felt compelled to appeal to his friend in the White House — the man who had previously and effectively spoken out for Polish Jews. What is clear, however, is that Hoover responded promptly. On the very day he received Strauss’s letter, he wrote back: “I will do what I can.”

Physical Description